#19 Harper’s Ferry to Fayetville (and NYC)

6/25: We tried to sleep in a little bit because we were in a hotel and didn’t have a big day, but we still woke up at 6. Oops. Anyway, we got breakfast downstairs, packed up, and then walked to the AT visitors center. There, we got our picture taken and printed by the sign. We also saw Otter and Sunshine’s pictures in the photo album that they had! We were the 1010th and the 1011th thru hikers to pass through the visitor’s center, so that was super neat. We walked through downtown Harper’s Ferry a little bit and got some ice cream that was overpriced. Still, it was ice cream and we were happy. We finally got on the trail at 11:20 and crossed the bridge over the Potomac River. Then we followed a a flat bike path for a few miles. As we were walking, we saw the biggest snapper turtle either of us had ever seen! It was hanging out on the side of the trail, making it’s way towards the swamp.

We saw a lot of painted turtles on logs in the swamp as we hiked. It took a while, but we finally made it to the end of the road, and the trail started to go up into the mountains. It was about a 1,000 foot climb, but it was gradual, so it didn’t feel that hard. There was a cool viewpoint of the Potomac River from up above that we checked out. It was a hot day and we took lots of snack and water breaks. We made it to a clearing with mowed grass and some historic landmarks from the Civil War. It also had bathrooms with flushing toilets, so that was neat. Then we hiked to the shelter and instead of staying inside, we pitched our tent on the side of the path down to the shelter. We ate dinner with Carver, Sweet Life (who we thought we lost, but then we found him again) and a new friends named Data and King Fu. After dinner, we went to our tent and watched the fireflies until we went to sleep.

6/27-7/1: New York City! We rented a car from a town near Harper’s Ferry with our friend Zen Dragon and drove up to Newark. From there, somehow, we managed to get into the city and to our hotel. That night we met up with Sylvie and Jill! It was so good to catch up with them and hang out. The next day we saw the World Trade Center memorial which was incredible. Then we got lunch by the Hudson at Battery Park and saw the Statue of Liberty! And bonus, we didn’t have to filter water from the Hudson. Nor should anyone. After that, we went to the public library and saw an exhibit on Stonewall and then went to a rally near Stonewall where we listened to some speakers. Unfortunately we had to leave a little early because we had to go back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. Zen had a real treat in store- she took us to a Michelin star sushi restaurant! We had no idea what we were ordering, but it was delicious! Hawk even kind of used chopsticks. Survivor used chopsticks as well, but more successfully. The next day we slept in and Hawk and Survivor met Jane for some NY pizza! It was great catching up and eating all the delicious pizza. That night, we saw a great view of the city from the rooftop bar at our hotel.

On Sunday we joined the Queer Liberation March and went to pride a little bit except there were so many people and we just wanted food. We did get food though! And on Monday we headed back out of the city. Has anyone ever said something about New York City traffic being bad before? Because it’s bad. But we got some shut eye before heading back to the trail!

7/2: After a fun side trip in NYC, we ended up in a hotel in Hagersville, PA that was about 30 minutes from the trail. Survivor and Hawk resupplied at a nearby Target and then us and Zen drove to Washington Monument State Park where we had left off. We were so happy to be back on the trail! After the chaos of NYC, it was nice to just walk in the woods again. Zen had other plans, so she took the rental car and drove ahead to Pennsylvania. We didn’t know exactly how far we were hiking, and a lot of it was dependent on how we were feeling. Even though we took a bunch of zeroes, we still walked a lot in the city, so we weren’t overly stiff and we felt good and rested as we walked. We still decided on a shorter 12.5 mile day, but our other option was 8 miles, so we put ourselves in a better position. We stopped for water a little over halfway through and took a nice snack break. The walk was going great- we felt refreshed, there was usually a breeze, and we were just so thankful to be hiking again, that nothing could bring our moods down. Not even a bunch of rocks. Which was a bummer, but we took our time and placed our feet carefully so that we didn’t trip. We got to the shelter and saw a mouse scurrying around outside of it, so we decided to tent instead. It was tough to set up because of the gravel, but we did it with the help on some heavy rocks to hold the stakes down. Our couscous was already cooked when we heard thunder. We gathered all of our food and put it nearby the tent in case it started raining. It held off while we ate, and Hawk grabbed some black raspberries nearby to share for dessert.

Then there was a big boom of thunder and we shoved everything in the tent as fast as we could. The rain still held off though, so we probably didn’t need as much urgency. It rained a little bit before we went to sleep, but we stayed nice and dry in the tent!

7/3: We got on the trail at around 8 (we’ve been waking up later since NYC) and it was already muggy out. We stopped at about 4 miles to filter water by a stream and take a snack break. Mmm Clif Bars. Once we started up again though, there was a giant hill and that was a bummer. It was also very rocky. After getting up the mountain, we took a lunch break. Hawk might be getting tired of tuna packets, which is a sad update because they have a lot of protein. The spot we ate at was a neat little clearing, so it was nice to hang out there for a bit. Then we had to go down the rocky mountain, and there was a large boulder field that we had to navigate through at the bottom. We almost got lost a few times because there wasn’t any trail, just rocks. But we made it! And we came across a park where we had access to running water and a picnic table. When we left, there were a ton of raspberries, so we mosied and picked berries for a little bit. Pretty soon though, we hit the Mason/Dixon Line! Hooray!

We’re in our favorite half of the country again, but we will miss sweet tea a lot. Onto Pennsylvania, which we were very excited for. We hiked a little less than 5 more miles to the shelter, and we were the only ones staying inside, so we spread our stuff out all over the place. After some Spanish rice for dinner, we were ready for bed and to push about 13 miles to get into town tomorrow.

We got into town at about 1:30 today and took some time to relax after another hot and muggy day. Tomorrow we’ll get back on trail and maybe with some miracle it will be cooler (it won’t, but a girl can dream). Anyway, happy 4th of July everyone!

Happy Trails :)